The Petzl Reverso 4 replaced the 3 in 2012. The 4 is lighter, has a larger carabiner hole to help releasing it after being locked up. See our complete Belay Device Review to see how the 4 competes against the competition. If you still have the Reverso 3, don't worry. It's an awesome device and it's hard to tell that much difference between the Reverso 3 and 4.

This belay device after 1 day out had sharp edges appear in the tubes where the rope runs through I was angry that sharp metal edges appeared in the tubes in contact with the rope I feel I need to comment on this device because that was very uncool I felt that thus was not a safe condition!! So I threw it out after 1st use Now I Use a BD ATC Guide or my old Reverso 2 (which this never happened on, in over two plus years of use). Petzl needs to never build another device that does this!

Great for a season, but after that see ya! They aren't kidding about sharp edges in the tubes appearing after rappelling, I bailed off of Venusian Blind (~1/3 of the way up) yesterday and that must have been the straw that broke the camel's back.

The performance, before it wears out, is outstanding. Had an ATC before this and performs similarly but much lower profile and not as bomber. Even for alpine routes, I'll suck it up and carry the ATC-Guide I will be picking up later today instead. Gotta keep that belay chain integrity at its highest, yo!

My favorite all around belaying device. Works well on long multipitch climbs because I can belay off the anchor. Super lightweight. Never used a rope bigger than 9.8 in it, can't comment on the too much friction issue. It does wear down quickly, one season is about it. Worth the money if you are doing autolocking anchor belays and concerned about weight. Not a good belay device for just sport climbing or single pitch all day trad. I prefer a gri-gri or BD ATC for day-day use.

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